I have a little first hand experience with BH 209 after todays testing. I used the pre measured plastic BH 209 tubes filled to the 100 grain volume mark. I used the recommended CCI 209 magnum primers. The gun is a Traditions Vortek with a 28" barrel sporting a 3.5-10 Bushnell Scopechief. The sabots used are Dead Center 200gr 40 caliber all lead bullets with a polymer tip. I only fired 6 rounds and I didnt have a good shooting setup so grouping was not really attempted. As for the BH 209....did not have to clean the bore at all, no problem seating the 6th shot, no issues with a fouled breech plug, instant ignition and not much smoke. I am sure I could shoot more rounds without cleaning the bore, but I will clean it up tonight. The Vortek is a very fine gun and feels really good in my hands...more like a centerfire rifle. So....Its a 2 thumbs up for BH 209 and I have 5lbs of this fine product. I am certain all who come in contact with this powder will be converted. Also 2 thumbs up for the Traditions Vortek. Muzzleloader hunting just moved a major step forward. Also I would like to add that the CCI primers burned clean and there was no blowback at all. By the way, My Brother was there with his Traditions Buckhorn using 777 pellets. He said he probably had 5 or 6 shots on it since last cleaning. He had to almost pound the bullet into the bore and bent his ramrod in the process. He finally got the bullet seated and it did fire. Just saying He is going to switch to BH 209 after today and He really liked the Vortek as well.
Thats good to hear.
Your brother on the othe hand is up the creek. His rifle can not safely shoot blackhorn209 due to it being #1: A plunger style rifle. The plunger style muzzy can launch the primer back into the shooters face " this has happened before!" and injure the shooter, due to the pressure being put on the primer and the plunger normally being weak in some muzzy styles... #2: If it has a slotted breech plug, it will not reliably ignite BH209. Take a look at the picture of the plugs on the back of the BH209 can. The breech plug primer area must be fully enclosed.
Your brother needs to start swabbing between shots in order to safely reload his rifle. What he was doing was asking for a barrel burst. T7 creates a crud ring which is basically a HARD crusty ring that catches the bullet and stops it cold turkey where it sits. The shooter not knowing this often thinks hes good and primers, pulls the trigger and often gets a nasty burst of recoil. Basically you can leave an air gap between the powder and projectile which could burst the barrel.
Have him start cleaning his barrel after every shot and i bet you he will kiss you and his accuracy will increase greatly.
Also after you're done shooting, make sure you clean the carbon from the plugs flash channel. Use a 1/8" "For Traditions/Knight/TC..."CVA uses 3mm or #32" drill bit and with your FINGERS, spin it and you will feel it get tight and start cutting into the carbon.
Your brother, most likely, will not be able to use BH209 with that rifle. BH209 needs a closed system breech plug. For you it will be the best you can use. I have used 777 loose powder since it has been out and I have never had as much problem as your brother has with pellets. I am wondering if the pellets have a different residue than the loose. It is also easier to clean than Pyrodex or BP.
I usually find... "operater error" is the cause of such problems. This is not meant to be a slam. I am just stating there is probably something he is not doing properly. If he had not cleaned his rifle since the last time he shot it... I am wondering how he was able to load it at all.
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